Children's playthings, such as exercise and entertainment hoops, children's bats, batons and jump ropes, and other devices of the same general character, are readily available in the marketplace at a low price, these playthings being mass produced in large quantities at low cost. One of the problems with the playthings of this type is that they look cheap. Of course, it is possible to improve the appearance of these articles by special surface applications after their initial manufacture, but this increases the costs substantially. Moreover, such special treatments, such as special coating operations, must be individualized if the mass produced devices are to be given an appearance which differs from one to another, and this requires individual, manual attention and very greatly increases the costs of these devices.